I have to admit, I agreed with a lot of Mossberg's comments. For example, the connectivity icon and the web browser icon really are the same, and although I get the point behind grouping all "contact" related programs together, it doesn't follow any existing interface model I know of, and it took me a few minutes to grok it and learn to use it. The email program is still unusable, in my opinion. As we all know, it's too slow a lot of the time. At first, I was surprised that he totally ignored the amazing e-book capabilities of the 770, but since Nokia doesn't include FBReader pre-installed, maybe it was fair of him to leave it out--everything else he mentioned came pre-installed or as part of the operating system. (And maybe Nokia should take the hint and start including it as a given, so that they really start to promote this feature.)

As kimmoj states earlier in this thread, Mossberg is reviewing this device for Joe Average, not a tech geek. I would not be able to argue, in good faith, that the 770 would be a better tool for my 50-ish friend who uses a LifeDrive. The fact is, Palm (and Windows/Apple of course) all manage the user experience in a far more controlled way than any open source project I've ever seen, and that includes super-sexy Ubuntu. The 770 provides more freedom and usefulness than a LifeDrive, and nobody can beat that screen--but it also requires a bigger investment of time and mental effort from the user. It is simply not yet a consumer device. It is a gadget.

A lot of reviews of the 770 are badly written by clueless product reviewers who approach it with preconceived notions of what a portable device is supposed to do. I think these reviewers lack imagination or analytical prowess (or are working under a harsh deadline, ha ha). I just ignore them, because the people who look to them for guidance aren't the kinds of people who will ever "get" the 770 in its current state anyway. But I actually welcome reviews like Mossberg's, because he neither overpraises nor hacks at the 770. We all KNOW that it's got problems, despite all its wonderful features and potential. It's good for the press to remind both the public and, more importantly, Nokia, that none of us thinks this is anything more than a (very awesome) work in progress in its current state.

Here's the article, btw: Crisp But Slow